board funtions

[Darth Vand-Alar]

then ill get the igniter 2 and some neopixels. i can get a rebel star board without the leds and use that as a base (unless i find out that the board wont take the neopixels, then im back to square one.) i can always send the board, chassis, and leds to my father who is an electrician and have him do the soldering. he works on projects that are this small. i just like the fact that each led can be mixed the way it is supposed to for the final color. at this point i'm thinking of using the adafruit boards if im making a light only saber.

[JakeSoft]

at this point i'm thinking of using the adafruit boards if im making a light only saber.

If you don't want sound, then doing a simple LED controller for lighting effects with general purpose boards should be pretty easy and cheap. It's sound playback coordinated with reacting to motion sensing that makes it so complicated. Without that, it's not bad if you know how to program.

[FenixFire]

then ill get the igniter 2 and some neopixels. i can get a rebel star board without the leds and use that as a base (unless i find out that the board wont take the neopixels, then im back to square one.) i can always send the board, chassis, and leds to my father who is an electrician and have him do the soldering. he works on projects that are this small. i just like the fact that each led can be mixed the way it is supposed to for the final color. at this point i'm thinking of using the adafruit boards if im making a light only saber.

You would be better off using an rgbw Cree if you want individual rgb dies. If I remember correctly the NeoPixles are only 15 or 18 mA LEDs. Basically an SMD version of a standard 5mm rgb accent led, and are only bright as a 20mA accent led. They were basically developed to incorporate into smart fabrics and other were able items. The are an accent lighting or display item not a lighting specific led like the rebel and Cree XP-E that were developed for lighting applications. You will be disappointed in brightness if mounting three to a star...you would also need a star specifically for that LED contact layout. Though if you could wire them in the serial fashion of a string blade, they would play quite nicely with a Neo driver.

[darth_chasm]

You would be better off using an rgbw Cree if you want individual rgb dies. If I remember correctly the NeoPixles are only 15 or 18 mA LEDs. Basically an SMD version of a standard 5mm rgb accent led, and are only bright as a 20mA accent led. They were basically developed to incorporate into smart fabrics and other were able items. The are an accent lighting or display item not a lighting specific led like the rebel and Cree XP-E that were developed for lighting applications. You will be disappointed in brightness if mounting three to a star...you would also need a star specifically for that LED contact layout.

This is absolutely correct. I've used the neopixel type led's (5050s) for a crystal chamber. They are not powerful enough to light an entire blade.

Examples...



EDIT: Disregard. Incorrect info provided.

[Darth Vand-Alar]

You would be better off using an rgbw Cree if you want individual rgb dies. If I remember correctly the NeoPixles are only 15 or 18 mA LEDs. Basically an SMD version of a standard 5mm rgb accent led, and are only bright as a 20mA accent led. They were basically developed to incorporate into smart fabrics and other were able items. The are an accent lighting or display item not a lighting specific led like the rebel and Cree XP-E that were developed for lighting applications. You will be disappointed in brightness if mounting three to a star...you would also need a star specifically for that LED contact layout. Though if you could wire them in the serial fashion of a string blade, they would play quite nicely with a Neo driver.

they have sequin leds that i had considered using for a string blade. i want to use both a string blade to simulate ignition and a star to make the blade evenly lit. would it work?

[Darth Vand-Alar]

i could always use the neopixels on a breadboard for testing my circuits. only question with that is if i set up resisters for the neopixels would the same resistances work for the luxeon tri-rebel? im custom ordering my star from luxeon to have deep red, royal blue and green.

[xl97]

??

I think you guys are confused.


* 5050 leds -are not- Neopixel LEDS.. while maybe sharing the same size/package (5050 sized).. they are totally different.

5050 are just 3 (R, G, B) dies under one 'dome'.. nothing more.

Neopixles (also come in other sizes than just 5050 package) have a tiny microcontoller in them..

(ie: individually addressable/contolled leds in your 'strip')

You dont get that in regular old 5050 RGB leds.

You can control a whole strip of Neopixels with 1 wire.. (not the case with regular RGB leds.. 1 per color/die.. and you dont individually control the color(s).. all red, or all green, or all blue..etc)

I have never heard of any NEC/Igniter board working with these strips (natively of course).. or a Plecter board for that matter either..



You CAN NOT take Neopipxels and mount them to a 'star'.. and do what with them? They wouldnt even light up.

You need to go back and re-read about what Neopixel and DotStar leds are.. and stop confusing them with plain old RGB leds.. (5050 is a package/dimension size.. so it means nothing)

they have sequin leds that i had considered using for a string blade. i want to use both a string blade to simulate ignition and a star to make the blade evenly lit. would it work?

No... and what would a 'star' do anyways?

only question with that is if i set up resisters for the neopixels would the same resistances work for the luxeon tri-rebel? im custom ordering my star from luxeon to have deep red, royal blue and green.

Again.. apples & oranges here..


1.) Neopixels run @ +5v... (with a very specific timing requirement).. single +5v power source.. with enough current to drive as many 'Neopixels' as you have in the strip.. so roughly 60mA per 'Neopixel' in the strip.


2.) "luxeon tri-rebel".. what one? what colors.. but most leds take (roughly) +3.v voltage.. with reds usually around +1.7-2.2v... (give or take of course)..

So you already have a 'difference' in required forward voltage.

The resistor use in Neopixels it to:

1.) protect the Arduino pin.. and protect the first Neopixel in the strip from blowing due to current when powering on/off the strip.. (which is why they also instruct you to connect things in a certain order..etc)



Your doing yourself a dis-service by planning a project using products you dont fully understand.. or following erroneous advice.


As JakeSoft mentions.. if you want to truly do a 'stunt' (ie: no sound).. then an Arduino Pro-Mini and a Neopixel strip will work... and shouldnt be that difficult.

good luck!

[Darth Vand-Alar]

"luxeon tri-rebel".. what one? what colors.. but most leds take (roughly) +3.v voltage.. with reds usually around +1.7-2.2v... (give or take of course)..

luxeon offers custom tri rebel stars just pic the leds you want from the drop down lists, they put them together and ship it to you.
here is the link: http://www.luxeonstar.com/any-3-rebe...i-star-sinkpad
mine will cost US $22.45 and will have deep red, royal blue, and green.

[darth_chasm]

Thanks as always for your clarification and help. OP, listen to xl97.

[FenixFire]

??

I think you guys are confused.

xl,

I am not confused, I have used them in the past, actually several times for various prototypes because of the programming when paired with an arduino. They are infact just a standard 18mA rgb or rgbw or warm white or even cool white SMD led (yes they are available in 3 smd sizes as well) mounted to one of several small individual boards, multi die rings, or flexible linear pcbs, or even as we did in one wareable prototype sewn directly into the conductive thread of the handbag. Then they add the smd resistors to protect from over-voltage surges and the PWM controllers to drive consistent color output and mixing when using the rgb and rgbw models.